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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

How to Have Happy Holidays Without Money.

This Thanksgiving weekend Evan and I spent a day organizing
his room. I explained to him that our local homeless shelter would be coming to
pick up items we didn’t need any more, and giving them to families who did need
them. When I told him many of these kids had no books or toys, he suddenly
became enthused about giving. After we finished his room, I kept on through the
rest of the house. By the end, we had countless bags of clothing, books, toys,
dishes and other things to give away, which made me realize, if I have this
much to “stuff” to give away, first of all, I am a rich woman. Second, I would
like to live with less “stuff”. And the holidays are coming…

Several years ago we made an agreement amongst our friends
and family to adopt a FIVE-HANDS gifting tradition, and it’s not only been a huge financial
relief, it’s given us the gift of time, and made gift-giving much more fun.

FIVE-HANDS Gifting

HANDmade : My favorite gifts are the ones that were
thoughtfully and lovingly made by my kids and friends. I have a Christmas
ornament from my family in Texas that means the world to me, and a collage on
my wall made by my best friend.I
still have every macaroni picture frame and handpainted figurine made my kids
when they were little. Now that they’re older, instead of macaroni art, they
make me mix CDs of their favorite new music, or frame photos they know I’ll
love. Even if you're not "crafty"- you can make a copy of a CD you love, or share photos you've taken. I make my kids an ornament every year on which I write (in permanent
marker) the big events of their lives that year. It is so much fun unpacking
them and re-reading the ones from years ago. My daughter made me coasters out
of old kitchen tiles- putting our family photos on them.
So cute, right?

HAND-me-down : My daughter had been coveting a Calvin Klein
t-shirt of mine forever, so one year I wrapped it up and put it under the tree.
I can’t decide which she got more excited about that year, the old t-shirt or
the Disneyland tickets we bought her. Similarly, there are family heirlooms,
old photos that can be reproduced, secret recipes that can be shared, classic
books and albums that can be handed down.

SecondHAND. The last couple years, we’ve made a game out of
seeing who could find the most perfect gift from a thrift store or yard sale. That
was a really fun one- the hunt was full of laughter. It’s even more fun if you
can do the yard sale/thrift store day together with friends or family and make
it an event!

Helping HAND (donations to charities). I often give gift
certificates for KIVA micro-loans. You choose what country, family or person to
loan the money to, and track the progress of the loan. For instance, $25 can
buy a farmer in Africa a goat so she can make cheese to sell at the local
market.

Another thing I like to do is buy gifts that are helping a community. Last year I bought Amy a hand-beaded ornament made by the Masai
tribe in Africa. This helped to buy food for the tribe.

HAND-in-hand: the best gift of all is time spent together. a
movie, concert, play, dinnerare
wonderful, but time together doesn’t have to cost money. Museums, a special
hike, a picnic, a snow day or trip to the beach will all create memories that
will last long beyond an iPad or video game. Cute gift certificates can be made
for these things- but the most important thing: Make a date and stick to it.
(Nothing is worse than a promise made for time together that isn’t redeemed.)

One of the happiest holiday memories my family has is from
1995- a year after our home had burned down. We were bankrupt and broke. We had
no money to spend, so we never set foot inside a mall. We stayed home and
watched holiday movies, and baked cookies and did crafts with our kids. We went
Christmas caroling. We made each other gifts, we made our own Christmas cards.
We spent time with family and friends. It was the coziest, most sparkly holiday
ever.

Maybe you’ll consider trying some of these ideas this
holiday season. And please share any holiday ideas or traditions you have, too!

Love this…the last thing in the world i would want to do is SHOP on a Black Friday, or Terrible Tuesday or Sad Sad Sat. I love this piece. None of us needs anything…but love, peace of mind, contentment, relaxation. Our family gives one another "service" gifts. My husband loves the booklet of monthly foot rubs. I am so grateful for the "I will clean your entire house" chit from my daughters. Free babysitting, I will wash your car, homemade baked pie of your choice. We all look forward to these. Thanks for the suggestions. happy "stuffless" holidays to you and yours.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Kiva! I've made about 24 loans with the same more or less $100 to all sorts of people all over the world! I also like Heifer International and tend to buy people bees because they don't eat them. I realize that there's nothing wrong with buying people edible animals, it makes me feel like I'm offering up a life sacrifice I wouldn't personally make myself. Bees and trees and such--that works for me :)

About Me

I am a happily married mom of three who spends her time writing, singing, painting, hiking, rescuing strays, doing yoga and spending time with great friends. I have a new book, DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM (Seal Press) co-edited with Amy Ferris, and have written 2 memoirs. I have opinions and thoughts about everything, so rather than torture the people I love with my constant pontification, I put it all on my blog and in books. Now the people that actually WANT to hear my opinions, can. : )